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range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> more organizations distance themselves from the british tabloid, "news of the world" as new things surface in the scandal. >> i have to say that if the actions approved have been verified, and i'm appalled. >> welcome to gmt. i am naga munchetty. 38 people are killed in india in a collision between a bus and a train. as america gets dangerously

close to its borrowing limit, barack obama prepares to face congressional leaders in a pivotal round of talks. hello. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and early families of british soldiers who died in iraq and afghanistan have expressed shock and anger that their phones may have been hacked. personal details of bereaved relatives were found in the files of the private detective who intercepted voice mail messages for the "news of the world." news international, which owns the newspaper, said it would be appalled if there were any truth to the claims. >> "news of the world" prides itself on supporting british soldiers and the families of those who died on the front line. now it is alleged to have been responsible for hacking into the phones of some of those families.

their phone numbers were found in the files of the private investigator. >> the families are very upset and disturbed. really upset. >> the royal british legion has dropped the "news of the world" as its campaigning partner, saying it will suspend its relationship with the partnership. >> we do not want to get ahead of ourselves. the police investigation is ongoing. we need to see the results of that. i have to say, if these actions have been verified, and i'm appalled. >> news international said it would be appalled if there were any truth to the allegations. said in a statement, "news international's record as a

friend to the armed services and our service men and women is impeccable." the commercial pressure on news international continues to grow as more advertisers consider their position and power. >> john nichols is a political writer for "u.s. nation" magazine. he joins me on a video link from wisconsin. thank you very much for joining me. are you surprised to hear about the level, allegedly, of phone hacking that has taken place in the u.k.? >> i am absolutely surprised. i think it would be stunning by any measure. it is especially stunning as you talk about some of the issues -- going into the phone records of

family members of servicemen. in the the united states -- in the united states, this would be a huge scandal. >> how does our level of journalism compared to the united states? >> our constitution has as its fourth amendment the right to privacy. every schoolchild knows this. something like this in the united states would be considered an incredible breach. by the same token, i think it's important to understand that many of the tabloid practices seen in britain in the print press have begun to appear in the united states in our broadcast and cable media. we are hardly perfect on this side of the pond. >> what do you think is drawing that? also the 24/7 news cycle, the desire to have

something new and something more. that pushes a lot of journalism outlets into minutia. they go after more detail and more information. you saw that in the united states in the case of a congressman anthony wiener. once that got going, there was such a drive to get every single photo, every single phone message possible. i think you see that in general. once media outlets have access to the most private information, they often keep looking for something more to put up on the screen. in britain, perhaps, in print. >> good to have your insight into the media industry. thank you for joining me from wisconsin. let's look at some of the other stories making headlines. a collision between a train

and a bus in northern india has killed at least 38 people near the town of patiyali. the bus was carrying about 70 passengers. they were returning from a wedding party. indian authorities are blaming the bus driver for the crash. >> from dehli, the prime minister has ordered a high- level inquiry. the chairman has ablame the driver of the bus. the bus was stopped on the track. other people say the bus was broken. somehow, the driver is being

blamed for the whole incident. now they will tell people that this will -- to be very careful. >> state media in china has dismissed reports that the former president, jiang zemin, has died. this follows days of incidents regarding jiang zemin's health and reports that he was dead. internet searches for the former president's name has been blocked. progress towards tripoli hampered by a lack of ammunition and inadequate support from nato. the rebels say 17 of their fighters were killed and more than 60 wounded on wednesday. they have been locked in a stalemate for more than six

weeks. malaysian police say they've taken control of the kindergarten where around 30 children and four teachers were held hostage. a man, who according to some reports was armed, stormed into the nursery school and help the people hostage for nearly seven hours. now, the consequences of failure are terrifying. less than four weeks to poverty default on america's obligations, president obama is entering talks with congressional leaders. he's pushing for $4 trillion in savings. there's no agreement on where the cuts should be made. jake sherman, an analyst from politico.com joins me now. the aim is to avoid defaulting on debt. it is a massive, decisive package that is needed. how likely is this to happen?

>> what is needed and what will happen are two completely different things at this point. we really have two weeks. the president has set july 22 as a date to get a deal done on $4 trillion on savings. there's a feeling that a lot of people have forgotten. there's been a lot of light legislating, but now they have to come together on a deal for trillions of dollars in savings. there's no idea on where this will come from. they've come to agreement on about half of it. it will cut health-care programs, like medicare and medicaid, which provide care for the elderly and the poor. they will cut pension benefits for federal workers, they say. the real sticking point is taxes. republicans in congress, who control the house of representatives, and have a lot of influence in the united states senate, do not want to raise taxes. they say the country cannot stomach that right now.

the president says taxes are way too low at this point and they need to be brought up to where the nation is. we are kind of at an impasse. it's unclear to anybody in washington, to be honest with you, what will happen next. it's unclear how they will move forward. >> is it unrealistic to think that political one upmanship will be put aside? if the debt is not addressed, this has consequences globally, not just the united states. >> we go through the stands every couple of months, whether it's the debt ceiling -- we go through this dance every couple of months, whether its the debt ceiling or funding our government. we tend to have these last- minute negotiations, which are a bit of theater. republicans and democrats agree on one thing, which is that we

cannot default on our debt. we cannot have people call into question whether we will pay our bills or not. that's a big issue. what is driving this behind-the- scenes -- republicans took control of the house with a group of people who are not politicians. they are business owners and have a natural distrust of government. it's a disconnect between the people in congress and the reality. everyone is saying it will have huge impacts. here we are a couple of weeks before the united states cannot pay its obligations, and we're having a fight. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. >> still to come on gmt -- crowds braved the brain in london ahead of tonight's premiere of the final film about .he boy blizwizard

>> the duke and duchess of cambridge continue their tour of north america. the royal couple is in calgary at the world famous annual rodeo. they visited a town that has recently been devastated by forest fires. >> two months ago, it was a town in despair. william and kate had asked to visit the town in alberta on what had been planned as a private day for them. they walked through the wreckage of people's homes. 400 were destroyed when the fires involved much of the town. they went on to meet the people, who only discovered yesterday they were coming. the purpose of the visit was to try to lift the spirits of people who had been through a dramatic few weeks. william did much the same in new zealand this year when he went to christchurch soon after the

earthquake. for tate, this is the first time she's come face-to-face with -- for kate, this is the first time she's come face-to-face with people who have faced such hardships. >> it was just the thrill of that the lifetime -- it was just a thrill of a lifetime. >> the visit to canada is drawing to a close now. it has been a week nobody will forget. the couple's last stop in canada is here, the canadian boom town city of calgary. they will launch this city's annual rodeo, the calgary stampede. >> if you have any views on the stories we're covering today, we would love to hear from you. we have our own "bbc world news"

facebook page. >> you are watching gmt from "bbc world news." i am naga munchetty. the headlines this hour -- widespread condemnation over the british tabloid newspaper after the latest allegation that relatives of british soldiers killed nine actions -- like an action also have their phones hacked. at least 30 people in northern india have been killed after a train and a bus crashed. time for the business news. we cannot get away from this "news of the world" story and the allegations of phone hacking. this is having a considerable impact on the business side. >> it does seem like share holders of news corp. around the world -- the penney has dropped. shareholders have dropped off about $2.5 million of the value

of shares. in terms of advertising in the u.k. for these newspapers, especially "news of the world," have been dropping off. ford, the british arm of general motors, and mitsubishi. it does seem like the age we are living in now -- is companies want to show they are showing social responsibility. news corp., the global empire, makes $3 billion per year and earnings. the u.k. newspaper side only represents 4%. take a listen. >> even with a sustained withdrawal of advertising revenue and a loss of readers,

the entire group can probably handle that from a financial perspective. however, the knock on effect of this is substantial. clearly creates concern among investors about the ways the company is handling this, the systems and control, the quality of the governance. that hits the share price. that wipes off billions of dollars of value from the company. >> we just had some news that the mobile phone company, 02, has also pulled advertising from the newspaper. the spokesperson says they share concerns and "we will not be purchasing advertising." >> the list is growing by the hour. the company may have to swallow tens of millions in compensation claims, as well. we will continue keeping you

updated on all of that. the european central bank is expected to raise its interest rate. of course, its concerns about rising prices -- jean-claude trichet's comments last month about the market's strong vigilance. the stronger eurozone countries will not welcome a rate rise whatsoever. asphil tyson explained why the ecb is so focused on inflation. >> it wants to get control. % andabove the ceiling of 2 that is key for the ecb. it wants to show it is tackling inflation. it will be looking at the core eurozone economies and the data there. >> let's take a quick look at

the markets, starting in the asian region. i have to say chinese banks are certainly leading the charge in asia after the announcement yesterday that beijing has once again raise interest rates. it's the third time this year. just like we were talking about with the eurozone -- tackling inflation. european markets will be keenly watching not only the interest rate decision, but the very important speech from jean- claude trichet post announcement. we will be talking about this live at about 12:45. >> thank you. iran's president, ahmadinejad, is engaged in a public fight with the supreme leader. the supreme leader has overruled the president's decision to fire a cabinet minister. james reynolds reports the

ayatollah has gone after ahmadinejad. >> the supreme leader may rule iran, but he now faces a fight with the man he approved as president, ahmadinejad. the two have argued public. note the president's slight grimace in a ceremony in june. the arguments may have been inevitable. look what happens after ahmadinejad is sworn into office in 2005. the ayatollah leaves the stage. ahmadinejad states to enjoy the crowd. ahmadinejad now wants to try to take power away from the country's ruling clerics. >> ahmadinejad is someone who has profound illusions of grandeur. he's not content playing second fiddle to the supreme leader. he sees himself as a revolutionary and a visionary leader. i think this smack down of

ahmadinejad was somehow inevitable. ahmadinejad was not content with merely being a president. chris ahmadinejad and his former chief of staff have been attacked by those loyal to the ayatollah. allies of the two men have been arrested. >> ahmadinejad is not the first iranian president to try to take on his own supreme leader. one of his predecessors tried to do the same thing. he lost and he ended up in exile in paris. >he believes that in the end, both men will lose. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the supreme leader has already lost because he has no other option. he made this man. he made him president. now he is ruining him. >> so what is left to be done

after this? as the air movements have been chanting, the only option is for him to go -- as the arab movements have been chanting, the only option is for him to go. >> neither will back down. james reynolds, bbc news. >> we're getting reports from the netherlands that part of the football stadium under renovation has collapsed, trapping people underneath. let's get the latest from our correspondent in the netherlands. what more can you tell us? >> very little is known right now. police say that part of the roof caved in about midday. an unknown number of people are trapped under the rubble. a local newspaper is reporting that at least five people were injured.

also, they are saying that they are most likely workers. that has not been confirmed. it is the off-season. renovations have been going on. the stadium is being expanded. right now, emergency services are there and a german trauma helicopter has been sent. the stadium's very close to the german border. it's a very popular football team. >> thank you very much for that update. obviously, the more that we get, we will bring it to you. ania has hitr" m fever pitch in london. for one man, it's a very emotional moment. he bought and published j.k. rowling's first two books when all others turned it down. you did not publish the next

five. >> no. i left. it's like leaving the beatles, isn't it? i love to start my own publishing company. i'm really proud of the legacy, of course. >> other publishers had turned her down. what did you see in these books? many of us have read them and seen the films and enjoyed them. what did you see that the others did not? >> everyone in the u.k. and america turned them down. i love the adventure. most of all, i love the friendship. i really liked the way the children supported each other. >> did you predict this? these are the fans that are waiting for this premiere tonight. >> i never thought it was going to be this big. i knew the children will love

it. we've all seen the people who hug the books and love everything about it. i never thought it would be like this. it has changed everything forever put it has kind of rescue reading, especially for boys. everyone said boys are going to give up reading. a few years later, they're fighting to finish a 400-page book. >> when you met her -- has she changed much? >> she is as keen a fan of harry and a lover of the detail as the wildest fans. she stays very close to the books. >> is there a future for "harry potter" now?

is there more to come? >> in a way, it is sad that the movies are finishing, but it kind of gives the books back to the reader. with the launch of pottermore, that will change the relationship between the readers and the audience. she will give more on the background of harry. i think it will carry on and it will grow. >> i will briefly put you on the spot. which are better, the books or the movie? >> i would have to say the books. >> thank you very much for joining me. >> thank you. >> there has been further russians of discussed over the latest allegations that relatives of british servicemen killed in iraq and afghanistan may have been victims of phone hacking by the "news of the

world pure " more is coming up on "bbc world news." >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet los angeles.